Category: STAR READERS

15 Tobechi reached the abandoned government project site just before 10 p.m. He had run the last kilometer, lungs burning, shoes caked with mud, heart slamming so hard it felt like it would crack a rib. The rain had stopped completely, leaving the air heavy and cold. The half-built blocks loomed black against the...

14 Tobechi had not slept. He had left the unfinished Gwagwalada shell before dawn, moving on foot through back paths until he reached a small motor park. A shared taxi took him as far as Kubwa, then another keke brought him closer to Wuse. By 8:47 p.m. he was walking the last two kilometers,...

13 Inspector Sanusi sat in his small office at the FCT Police Command headquarters, the ceiling fan creaking above him like an old joint protesting the weight of time. It was late Saturday afternoon, and the rain had started again, a soft, persistent patter against the window that blurred the view of the parking...

12 Inspector Sanusi’s office felt smaller under the weight of the afternoon downpour. Rain hammered the tin roof like impatient fingers, drowning out the distant hum of generators and the occasional shout from the holding cells downstairs. He sat at his desk, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up, flipping through the preliminary autopsy report on...

11 Thursday dawned clear, the rain having washed away the last of the Harmattan haze. Abuja felt sharper, buildings standing out against a blue sky, traffic horns crisp in the air. But for Tobechi, the clarity brought no relief. He had spent the night in the guest house, bed hard as concrete, walls thin...

10 The rain that had started Tuesday evening turned into a relentless downpour by Wednesday morning. Abuja’s streets gleamed slick under the gray sky, potholes filling like forgotten promises, vendors huddling under plastic sheets with their wares. The city felt washed but not clean, everything blurred at the edges. Amara had barely slept. The...